Ok - this is going to sound so funny, but serisouly I have no idea...

Let me preface by saying I have done basic single sheet cakes for people but most of my cakes are either round, square or stacked....so doing a full sized sheet cake has got me a bit nervous...weird I know!!

I got a request for a full sized sheet cake (18x36) - so I am guessing I take 4 sheet cakes of 9x12 and lay them together. Do I frost in between the cracks or do I trim the edges in the center and just mosey them up to each other?

Thanks in advance!

For me a full sheet cake is an 18x24, and when I do that I just trim the edges in teh center and line them up side-by-side.

HTH!

I totally understand where you're coming from. I've done lots of tiers, but I just did my first half-sheet cake this past weekend, and I was extremely nervous!!! I put icing in between mine and filled the crack all the way up the middle, which worked really well. What DIDN'T work well was the cakeboards I had underneath. They weren't enough support, and the right side started to separate from the left side when I went to lift it out of my car. My advice would be to either use something very sturdy underneath your cakes, like foamcore, or just make sure you have your hands underneat the WHOLE cake. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make your more nervous...I just want you to learn from my mistakes. I hope this is helpful, and best wishes to you!!!!

A full sheet is 18 X 24. I just use two half sheets and butt them up against each other with icing in between. (My oven won't hold a full sheet pan.) Yes, yes use very good support underneath. And you might need an extra set of hands to pick it up and move it. And make sure you can get it in and out of your car, (hoping you drive an SUV or van.)

I have plywood (untreated) for this very reason...Makes the large sheet more stable, thus no cracking of the icing ... I wrap it in several layers of what is known as shelf liner... then wrap in cake foil... I either get these back or I add 5.00 to their order.

Also I trim the side of the cake that butts up against the other... its just more appealing not to have that brown through the middle of your cake

I put two 12x18s together. My trick is that I freeze one of the cakes. I turn out the fresh cake onto the cake board by loosening it in the pan, putting the board over the pan (exactly where that cake is going to stay) and flipping the whole thing over. The frozen cake is much easier to butt up against the other one because it's stiff rather than trying to flip it out of the pan right in place.

I do not frost between the two cakes; but I do pipe a line of frosting in the seam before frosting the whole thing to eliminate the seam and it works for me.

If you have to do it with four cakes, you'll have a lot of seams to hide. I'd still suggest freezing them to help with placement. I've never done it, it's all theory to me.

Everyone has pretty much covered it, I just have to comment on your phrase "just mosey them up to each other" - I LOVE that!!!

Pam, I always cool my cakes in the pan. I have been baking & decorating cakes for 26 years. I sprinkle a little flour in the bottom of my pan (from a spice shaker). I put a piece of wax paper to cover the bottom of the pan. I do not grease the sides of the pans. I use baking strips on the outside of the pan.

When the cake and pan are cool, I gently shake the pan to loosen it. (Occasionally, I have to loosen a portion of an edge with a spatula, but usually I don't.) I turn it out directly on the board. Sometimes the wax paper stays in the pan, but most times it stays on the cake, and I just peel it off.

Tip, a piece of wax paper fits perfectly into a 12x18 pan, when I do 11x15 (which is most of the time), I just fold a small portion of the wax paper under. When I do a round or any other pan, I trace the pan with a craft knife to cut it to shape.

Just wanted to add that I also trim the cake sides where they are going to touch and I do add a thin icing coating between them to act as a glue to help hold them together. I think it also help prevent a seam from showing.

This is the value of CC! Lots of great experiences to draw from until you find the method that works best for you!

Linda,

Thank you very much for the info! I've been taught by the instructor to use pan release (I've been using Wilton's) so I did not know about the wax paper trick. I'll have to give it a try with my next cake and see how it turns out. I'm assuming you still let your cake cool for a couple of hours in the pan still. Does the cake get enough air around it to cool down?

Thanks again and have a great one!

Cheers!